Why Local Has a Soul: ESEI Hosts CreativeMornings Barcelona with Alícia Roselló
What does it mean to build something that lasts? Not a business plan or a pitch deck, but something with genuine roots in a community, a craft, and a way of seeing the world?
ESEI was proud to host CreativeMornings Barcelona at our campus in Barcelona, welcoming the city’s creative community for a morning of breakfast, conversation and inspiration. CreativeMornings is a global community that gathers for a breakfast and inspiring talk one Friday each month, bringing together creatives, entrepreneurs and curious minds from across the city. The Barcelona chapter is driven by Carla Teixeira, founder of Cultura Creativa, who continues to nurture this creative ecosystem in the city.
The guest speaker was Alícia Roselló, and if you do not know her name yet, you should.
Who Is Alícia Roselló?
Alícia has spent nearly two decades building a creative universe around craft, independent design, and the radical idea that local is not a limitation. It is a choice, and a meaningful one.
Her story begins in 2006 with Duduá, a small shop and gallery she founded in Barcelona with a specific purpose: to give makers, creators and artisans a place to sell their work at a time before social media and e-commerce had opened up alternative routes to market. It was an act of belief in people who made things with their hands, and in the customers who understood why that mattered.
Over time, Duduá evolved into something broader: a space for craft workshops, where techniques that risk being lost entirely are taught, practised and passed on. The value Alícia sees in those techniques is not nostalgic. It is urgent. Skills that disappear are not easily recovered, and the culture they carry disappears with them.
In 2009, she co-founded Festivalet, now one of Barcelona’s most beloved institutions: a pioneering fair of independent design and craft. What began as a small event with just a few participating tables has grown into a creative festival with more than 80 artisan stands. Festivalet is proof that there is genuine appetite for work that is made with intention, by people who care about what they are making.
Since 2015, she has taken that philosophy on the road with Talleres Nómadas, organising trips to learn directly from local artisans in Morocco, Guatemala, Peru, Mallorca and beyond. These are not tourist experiences. They are encounters with knowledge, with tradition, and with the people who hold it.
The Idea at the Heart of Everything
Alícia shared her journey with honesty and humour. When she started, she did not know exactly how things would evolve, but she had a clear dream and a great deal of determination. That combination, it turns out, goes a long way.
Her talk invited the room to reflect on something simple but powerful: where do we choose to spend our money?
She shared the example of one of her workshops, where participants spent six to eight hours creating a basket by hand. If the time, skill and dedication behind craftsmanship are valued so little in today’s market, what future do we leave for artisans? It is a question that goes beyond craft. It extends to where we buy our groceries, the ingredients we choose, the products we support, and the broader implications our purchasing decisions have on people, communities and the future of certain professions.
In a world of globalised prices and fast consumption, her message reminded everyone in the room that every purchase is also a conscious vote for the kind of society we want to support.
She put it simply and powerfully: “Local is what decides whether in ten years your street has a soul or just a facade.”
Why This Talk Matters for Business Students
CreativeMornings is a global series built around the idea that the most interesting conversations about creativity happen when people from different fields and backgrounds are in the same room. ESEI hosting an event like this reflects a belief that business education benefits from exactly that kind of cross-disciplinary encounter.
Alícia’s work is not separate from business. It is a model of business, one that starts with values rather than market research, that builds community before it builds revenue, and that measures success in terms that go beyond growth metrics. Her experience with Duduá, Festivalet and Talleres Nómadas offers a masterclass in brand building, community engagement, and what it looks like to create something that people genuinely care about.
For students studying Marketing and Communication, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, or Business Management, there is more to learn from Alícia’s journey than from many conventional case studies.
A Special Thanks to Our Sponsors
The morning was made even better by the generous support of Calma Coffee Roasters and Con V de Vero, whose contributions helped create the warm and welcoming atmosphere that CreativeMornings is known for.
Save the Date: The Next Edition
The next CreativeMornings Barcelona is expected at the end of April, with the theme CHISPA — spark in Spanish — celebrating the creative energy that moves this community of curious minds in the city. The format is the same: breakfast from 9:00 to 9:30, followed by the talk from 9:30 to 10:30.
Registrations usually open just a few days before the event and tickets go quickly, so keep an eye on the CreativeMornings Barcelona chapter for updates. We look forward to welcoming this inspiring community back to ESEI very soon.
Explore ESEI’s Programmes
👉 If you’re considering starting your own journey in Barcelona, explore ESEI’s Short Courses, Bachelor’s and Master’s and MBA programmes and see how we can support you on your study abroad journey.
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